Abus seize town exec in Zambo

From the Manila Standard Today (Mar 5): Abus seize town exec in Zambo

A local official from a town in Basilan province was abducted by suspected members of the notorious Abu Sayyaf Group at a commercial center in Zamboanga City Tuesday afternoon.

Initial police reports said that Arcina Nano, vice mayor of Hadji Motamad town in Basilan, was snatched by armed men believed to be ASG elements at the Minpro mall in Zamboanga City.

Nano was at the mall shopping with his wife, whose identity is being withheld by the police for security reasons, when the incident happened.

A police official who refused to be named said that the couple was on board their vehicle and was about to leave the establishment when Nano’s wife received a call from an unidentified caller instructing her to go back inside the mall for a still undetermined reason.

The vice mayor’s wife decided to return inside the mall, leaving her husband at the parking area.

As she proceeded back to the mall, she received a second call. The caller told her that his group had kidnapped her husband.

Later, the wife received a third call advising her not to report the incident to police authorities or to the media.

“Doon sa tawag na na-receive ng asawa ni Nano ng mga pinaniniwalaang may hawak sa Basilan vice mayor, nakiusap sila na wag magsumbong sa police at wag iparating ang nangyari sa media,” the source said.

The police said the suspects threatened to kill the vice mayor if she refuses to listen to their instructions and told her that they should resolve the matter quietly.

The police are now conducting an investigation into the kidnapping incident while manhunt operations had been launched to rescue the victim.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/03/05/abus-seize-town-exec-in-zambo/